Statistical analysis of live load for design of railway bridge

Abstract

In this study, a statistical estimation method is applied to analyze the safety margin of the design using KRL2012, which is the current design live load model of the railway bridge design code. The live load effect of the train combination for the design life of the bridge is calculated by applying the statistical estimation method to the section force obtained from the WIM data of the weight of the actual train in operation. Using the influence line concept, the train combinations that yield the maximum section forces are obtained for various span lengths. Statistical estimation supplies additional safety in design by extrapolating the load effect for the design period. KRL 2012 resulted in a load effect of about 15% on average, greater than that due to the statistically estimated train live load for the span ranges studied in this paper. © 2017 The Korean Society for Railway. All rights reserved.